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Wildside Makes January Fun Again!

January can be a bit of a downer month as all the holiday festivities come to a quick and abrupt end and all that’s left is short days and freezing nights. But Wildside Youth is provided a fun remedy for the winter blues for the kids in Hagerstown this past January:

The Meltdown

Wildside kicked off 2018 with a fun, winter-themed evening at Sunday Night Wild called ‘The Meltdown’. Thirty-three kids attended the night full of games, Jesus, food, and fun!

The frozen fun started with a ‘snowball fight’ played with balloons. After the snowball fight the kids got to go ‘ice fishing’ which involved finding Swedish Fish buried in a pan of whipped cream. Following the wintry games the kids enjoyed some singing and then dove right into the lesson.

The lesson, inspiring the events title, was teaching the kids to avoid meltdowns, temper tantrums, and throwing fits. They were taught that using self-control they could resist the attacks by Satan and avoid destructive behavior like tantrums and meltdowns.

The verse of the evening was, “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” Proverbs 25:28. An object lesson and a game called, ‘Don’t Have a Meltdown’ were used to help illustrate the verse and the lesson for all the kids.

After the lesson time, the kids had snacks and hung out before ending the first Sunday Night Wild of 2018.

Football and Cheerleading Party

On January 23rd the Trinity Center hosted a super bowl sized party to celebrate America’s favorite sport! 56 kids showed up to celebrate Wildside’s 3rd annual Football & Cheerleading Party. They participated in football themed carnival games, a flag football game, and a football scavenger hunt, along with arts & crafts activities, enjoying delicious food, and hearing a message about being God’s champion.

Building off the lesson of self-control taught at The Meltdown, the kids at the party learned how becoming a champion for God requires self-control – a lot like becoming a championship quality football team. Just like a winning football team needs to practice, problem solve, and work as a team in order to win, we too, need to practice self-control by not throwing fits or getting angry and hurting others, we need to solve problems God’s way and we need to work peacefully together as a team for God.

The kids who attend Wildside events love every minute of it and continue to come back for more fun. Wildside still has some more fun coming with the next big party on February 13th to celebrate Valentines Day. This event is free for kids ages 5-12 so call 301.739.1165 or email info@wildsideyouth.com to register your kids.

Wildside Youth is our kids ministry at The Hope Center. With various events taking place year round, Wildside is providing a safe, fun, and educational experience free for kids ages 5-12 in Hagerstown. During the school year Wildside hosts large party events each month along with special Sunday evening services geared just for kids. In the summer Wildside hosts Camp Wild, a free day camp running for four weeks in July and August. Wildside is also cultivating student leaders through their after school program, The Crew, where young people learn valuable skills and are given some leadership responsibilities during various events and activities at Wildside. For more information about Wildside Youth check out http://www.wildsideyouth.com.